Haag Jeter Indiana AFTE

This is Not the First Time That Lucien Haag Has Been the Subject of Controversy - Read More About Him HERE

Haag Report of 18 December 2004

Darryl Jeter was accused of killing Indiana State Trooper Scott Patrick on 22 December 2003. Jeter was to face a death penalty trial for this crime. Lake County Indiana Deputy Prosecutor, Clare Bradley Lubek, hired criminalist Lucien C Haag to conduct an investigation for the State. Taxpayers footed the bill for Mr Haag to travel from Arizona to Indiana several times during the course of the case.

The prosecution version of events had Mr Jeter shooting Trooper Patrick in the neck, with no objects between the muzzle of his pistol and Trooper Patrick's neck. The defense, on the other hand, claimed that Mr Jeter shot himself through the hand, and that the same bullet ended up in Trooper Patrick's neck, fatally wounding him.

At first sight, a subtle, and perhaps insignificant difference in the versions of events.

However, this could have been the difference between life and death for Mr Jeter. The difference between a deliberate act, and an accidental / unintentional act.

The autopsy indicated that the fatal bullet had struck no bone, or hard tissue, as it penetrated Trooper Patrick's body. The bullet was a full metal jacket (FMJ), and it is usual for these relatively hard bullets to exhibit no damage when they pass through soft tissue - in fact, they usually exhibit little damage after passing through harder materials, such as wood (see pictures below). The bullet in this case was brass jacketed, and this is even more difficult to deform than the far more common copper jacketed bullet.

One of the key issues in the case would be the degree of damage to the bullet that killed Trooper Patrick.

Mr Haag examined the fatal bullet at the Indiana State Police Crime Lab, Lowell, Indiana, on 23 November 2004. Mr Haag used a microscope during his examination of the exhibits. In his report dated 18 December 2004, Mr Haag refers to the fatal bullet on pages 3 and 5:

page 3 (Tests & Observations)

"[380 caliber brass-jacketed FMJ bullet from the body of Trooper Patrick]

This bullet is in pristine condition........"

page 5 (Summary & Conclusions)

"There is no evidence to support the idea that the defendant's left hand was struck and perforated by the same 380 Automatic bullet that struck and killed Trooper Patrick"

Clearly, the bullet pictured below (bottom) does not meet the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of pristine. Question is, was this a deliberate attempt to mislead, or just a genuine lack of knowledge of the English language ? You decide.

Mr Haag is a Past President of the Association of Firearm & Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE), and has held other offices in that organization.

PRISTINE is an interesting word, and in the context of the condition of objects, it is defined in Merriam-Webster's dictionary as: 'fresh and clean as or as if new'
Now, let's take a look at a pristine Sellier & Bellot 380 caliber brass jacketed bullet
	Note the lack of dings, dimples and the nice evenly rounded shape at the top. This bullet has not been fired. fresh, clean, & new = pristine (as defined by Merriam-Webster's dictionary)

Now we can take a look at a Sellier & Bellot 380 caliber brass jacketed bullet that was fired through a 2"x4" piece of wood Note that, aside from the inevitable rifling marks and a very slightly flattened nose, this bullet is in very good condition. Range was under 2 feet.



Now we can take a look at the Sellier and Bellot 380 brass jacketed bullet that killed Trooper Patrick Looks like this bullet hit something harder than just soft tissue. Significant deformation for such a hard bullet. In fact, this could be consistent with a bullet that has impacted finger bones. This bullet was described as "pristine" by criminalist Lucien C Haag. Possibly just what Deputy Prosecutor Clare Bradley Lubek wanted to hear ?